The Journey 194: Coffee and Hope (Rev. Dr. Joe Joseph Kuruvilla)
Read: Luke 7:11-17
In Pain and in Despair- Have a Starbucks Coffee. Sounds Strange: But this may be a future and a familiar dictum in some of the funeral homes. News agencies like USA today and Fox news have reported that a funeral home in northwestern South Carolina will be offering what it calls the Starbucks experience to those needing comfort, or just a cup of coffee, to the people who come there to bid farewell to their loved ones. It is the Robinson Funeral Home, in south Carolina who is trying this novel idea by attaching coffee shop to the funeral home. According to the owner of the funeral home, Chris Robinson, who states that the Starbucks will reside in an area of the Funeral Home which has been aptly named the "Coffee Corner," and would be a part of an expansion that will also include business offices and a chapel in the funeral home. This coffee corner will also have a fire place and Wi Fi. To make the coffee corner relevant to the context and occasion of mourning, the starbucks employees will train employees at the funeral home. What is more interesting is a statement by Robinson, who further states that there is nothing like food or coffee to help comfort those who are going through loss. One of the most desperate and painful situation that human being goes through is when in times of loosing their loved ones. It is at that time we all need comfort and solace. Starbucks and the funeral home thinks that a coffee can help them to relive their despair, but then what does this news and development talk to us as a Christian, especially in our role during times of bereavement, crisis and despair.
This week we are meditating on the theme “ Transformation in the life of the sick and the suffering”. The portion that we shall use for our meditation is from the Luke 7:11-17. . Here is another portion in the gospels which depicts the helplessness, the agony and the pain that a human being undergo because of death of a loved one. The person who undergoes this agony and pain is a widow, who is grieving over the death of her son. This is another portion where Jesus shows and expresses his compassion through meaningful and deliberate action to alleviate the suffering of the people. What forces Jesus into action of compassion is because he sees the plight of the woman. Not only her plight is compounded by the fact that she was woman, but the agony is compounded more by the fact that she was widow too and that is when she also looses her only support for life-her son. Here is a woman who is now in the twilight stage of life, not knowing what to do and where to go, traveling on a journey with the dead body of her son, not knowing where will life take her, after the funeral rite is over. It is in such desperate situation that Jesus comes near her, touches the dead body of the son, raises him and gives him back to the mother. Here is Jesus giving the widow the hope to live on and to carry on with her life. As a Christian I believe our role in this world is also to give hope to others through Christ, so that in this world of despair and pain, they are strengthened to move forward. For this to happen, our presence and our deliberate involvement in the life of the suffering people is what God wants us to do. Funeral homes and coffee retail giants like starbucks are doing their own role to alleviate pain and despair at the time of grief. For a Christian to bring hope and peace at the time of pain and suffering is rise above than just giving coffee, on the contrary through our relationship and fellowship offer the peace and hope through Christ.
In Pain and in Despair- Have a Starbucks Coffee. Sounds Strange: But this may be a future and a familiar dictum in some of the funeral homes. News agencies like USA today and Fox news have reported that a funeral home in northwestern South Carolina will be offering what it calls the Starbucks experience to those needing comfort, or just a cup of coffee, to the people who come there to bid farewell to their loved ones. It is the Robinson Funeral Home, in south Carolina who is trying this novel idea by attaching coffee shop to the funeral home. According to the owner of the funeral home, Chris Robinson, who states that the Starbucks will reside in an area of the Funeral Home which has been aptly named the "Coffee Corner," and would be a part of an expansion that will also include business offices and a chapel in the funeral home. This coffee corner will also have a fire place and Wi Fi. To make the coffee corner relevant to the context and occasion of mourning, the starbucks employees will train employees at the funeral home. What is more interesting is a statement by Robinson, who further states that there is nothing like food or coffee to help comfort those who are going through loss. One of the most desperate and painful situation that human being goes through is when in times of loosing their loved ones. It is at that time we all need comfort and solace. Starbucks and the funeral home thinks that a coffee can help them to relive their despair, but then what does this news and development talk to us as a Christian, especially in our role during times of bereavement, crisis and despair.
This week we are meditating on the theme “ Transformation in the life of the sick and the suffering”. The portion that we shall use for our meditation is from the Luke 7:11-17. . Here is another portion in the gospels which depicts the helplessness, the agony and the pain that a human being undergo because of death of a loved one. The person who undergoes this agony and pain is a widow, who is grieving over the death of her son. This is another portion where Jesus shows and expresses his compassion through meaningful and deliberate action to alleviate the suffering of the people. What forces Jesus into action of compassion is because he sees the plight of the woman. Not only her plight is compounded by the fact that she was woman, but the agony is compounded more by the fact that she was widow too and that is when she also looses her only support for life-her son. Here is a woman who is now in the twilight stage of life, not knowing what to do and where to go, traveling on a journey with the dead body of her son, not knowing where will life take her, after the funeral rite is over. It is in such desperate situation that Jesus comes near her, touches the dead body of the son, raises him and gives him back to the mother. Here is Jesus giving the widow the hope to live on and to carry on with her life. As a Christian I believe our role in this world is also to give hope to others through Christ, so that in this world of despair and pain, they are strengthened to move forward. For this to happen, our presence and our deliberate involvement in the life of the suffering people is what God wants us to do. Funeral homes and coffee retail giants like starbucks are doing their own role to alleviate pain and despair at the time of grief. For a Christian to bring hope and peace at the time of pain and suffering is rise above than just giving coffee, on the contrary through our relationship and fellowship offer the peace and hope through Christ.